1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system of forming an image, and an external device.
2. Description of the Related Art
To print out an image obtained by a digital camera according to a conventional technology, the image is first sent from a memory card of the digital camera to a personal computer (PC). An application for image viewing or image processing is then activated, and the image in the PC is output to a printer that is connected to the PC via a printer driver.
In this manner, the image recorded in the digital camera need be transmitted from the PC to the printer. Furthermore, a user has to perform complicated operation, such as operation of an application for printing out the image, or settings of the printer driver.
To solve the above problem, standards for a direct printing system such as PictBridge (registered trademark) have been established in which a digital camera and a printer are directly connected to each other without a PC, and digital cameras or printers that support the standards have been widely spread. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-64740 discloses a technology related to the direct printing system.
Furthermore, in network direct printing disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-289907, an output mode including two-sided printing can be set by a printer.
In the conventional technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-64740, a printing device performs the direct printing based on a communication command that is commonly used by various manufacturers. However, functions to be performed based on such a communication command do not include a function of specifying a complicated print mode. If a PC is employed in a printing system, it is possible to specify a mode for outputting an image onto two sides of a medium. However, such a mode cannot be specified in the direct printing system according to the conventional technology.
In the conventional technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-289907, it is possible to specify a mode for outputting an image on two sides of a medium by the printer. However, the limited number of images can be output by the camera as one job. When more than the limited number of images is requested to be output from the camera, the images are divided into several groups, and the images in each of the groups are transmitted as one job. In such a case, if a mode for two-sided printing is simply specified by the printer, two-sided printing cannot be properly performed.